Nick's Green House

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Workspace for ideas pertaining to Nick's Green House. Nick is asking us to help him as he moves towards home ownership in Detroit. He'd like to incorporate as many green ideas into the home as possible. Feel free to list your suggestions and links here.

Current need - Choosing a site/location

At dinner on January 17, Tom and I met with Nick and John to share ideas about their respective searches for houses in Detroit. Each of them are considering a purchase some time in the future, and would like ideas throughout the process that will help them make as many green choices as possible. Right now they need help at the beginning of the process: what to consider when searching for a site or location. Suggestions are welcome here.

Nick and John, here are some suggestions from our GLGI group

• Walkscore will evaluate an area's walkability
• look carefully at the community (some ideas: Rosedale park and the Cass corridor)
• some communities have a community garden - check with the organization: Greening of Detroit
• considering where to get food, try to locate as close as possible to the Eastern Market
• think ahead about square footage - a bigger square footage requires more heating, cooling, decorating. etc.
• square homes are more efficient than rectangular
• are you interested in doing historical preservation?
• consider closeness to work - you could walk or bike in
• think about a basement - many people used to hang laundry in a mudroom or basement all winter (saves energy on dryers)
• 3 big things to check out that are big ticket items: the roof, the furnace and the windows

--Peggy 13:48, 22 Jan 2008 (Eastern Standard Time)

Ideas from Natural Home Magazine - Jan/Feb issue

• From article: America's Best Green-Built Neighborhoods. Here are some neighborhood features I pulled from the article. These were some of the features that made these communities green. The ideas I picked have to do with choosing a site...
  • homes in close proximity to schools, parks, shops
  • easy mass transit access
  • parks and open space
  • historic buildings renovated/reused
  • area wetlands protection
  • native, chemical-free landscaping
  • stormwater system to keep water from flowing into river
  • community gardens and orchards
  • emphasis on front porches and narrow streets for enhanced community interaction
  • transportation routes that promote walking, biking and public transit
  • New Urbanist philosophy: compact neighborhood, housing diversity, mixed-use facilities, public spaces
• Same magazine, from article: 4 Simple Ways to Go Solar
  • Thinking about passive solar, you might want to consider the following points:
    • South-facing glass windows
    • Adequate shading in the summer
    • Indoor thermal mass, such as concrete, tiles or layers of sheet rock, that can store the heat
    • Proper insulation

--Peggy 20:11, 28 Jan 2008 (Eastern Standard Time)

• Some remodeling hints by --erica 11:02, 7 Jan 2008 (Eastern Standard Time)